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Congratulations! Thank you so much for sharing your story! It's so important to show students that a low UG GPA does not cripple your career for life. It may take a little longer, but it's possible!

Sounds like you have a very strong application! PhD applications are more about the connections with PIs then just meeting minimum requirements. For example, I didn't really apply for the PhD because I met my future advisor, he agreed to take me on, so my application (with my terrible UG GPA) was just a formality. I recommend reaching out to PIs you want to work with and letting them know you are applying to their institutions. With your research experience and publication, you are already a strong candidate. IMO getting a master's won't necessarily make you a stronger candidate. PIs want to see your drive to do research, and you have that already. Hope this helps. :)

Also, to help add to our collective anxiety, in the past the announcements have come in early in the morning. So if you don't see an email first thing in the morning, you probably won't get an email later in the day. Good luck everyone! This is my third and last time applying... XD

Quick update: I emailed the directors this morning and they got back to me very quickly! They said the program is paused, but to feel free to reach out if I have any more questions or concerns. So... not sure if that means there isn't an EAPSI 2018 or not.

I just saw that. I reached out to the program directors, but am worried that they halted the program. :'(

Anyone who won the award willing to share their essays with me? I am a McNair Peer Advisor and would love to share with my students a successful application, especially in the STEM fields! Message me if you are willing to share!

Congrats everyone! Unfortunately, I did not receive the award. @GatorGrad2020 congrats! At least UF was represented this year.

Go Gators! Hopefully we can add two new fellows to UF!

There are so many resources online for the NSF GRFP, but the Ford is harder to find and I don't know why. I am currently waiting to hear back about my Ford application. I had current Ford fellows at my university help me with my proposal, if it wasn't for them I wouldn't even know where to start! Having said that, there is actually a Ford thread active now at GradCafe. I suggest you follow that too. Results are due soon and students should be posting the comments and you can ask questions directly about what worked and what didn't in their applications. Good luck!

If your goal is to get into a PhD program, I don't see taking just grad courses helping you reach that. Research is the cornerstone of PhD programs, so to overcome a low GPA you should pursue research and work opportunities similar to what you want to do in your PhD program. Go above and beyond in these roles to earn a stellar letter of rec, and that will help your application a lot.

Graduate admissions offices often have their officers focus on different groups of universities and colleges by location. So one officer will be an expert on undergraduate institutions in the west, one in the east, one in the midwest, etc. So when a student has a lower GPA from a higher ranked school, the officer familiar with that school can explain why it is better than a high GPA at a different school. To this extent, they take where you get your bachelor's into consideration.

I am curious to hear how engineering PhD students are spending their summers. I am currently pursing internship opportunities, but could easily stay on campus and work on my research. I want to go into R&D after finishing my degree, so I feel I should get some more industry experience and make connections where I want to work. On the other hand, if I stay I can finish my degree more quickly and start working full time sooner. How are other students deciding between the two? Do your advisors give you an option or promote one over the other? Does it depend on how far along in the program you are? What other factors should be considered when planning your summer?

It depends on the field. I had a similar issue with papers I submitted in engineering. While the work was by and large done by me, with minimal input from my advisor, I had to list him and 2-3 of his collaborators on the paper. It was super frustrating because I had literally not even talked to the other people about the project, and they barely spoke English, so of course they didn't write or edit any of the paper. But it's convention their name goes on the paper. If this person you are concerned about going to be listed ahead of you on the publication? If so, then I would at least ask. You don't even have to ask directly. Talk to your professor and ask what is typically the order of the authors for your field. In my case, I was listed as first author anyways, and it is known in my field that the grad student tends to do > 90% of the work, so I still got appropriate credit. Is everyone going to be listed as authors or just given credit in the acknowledgements? It makes sense for the person in the study abroad program, and that is expected if they helped you out. There's nothing wrong with just asking what is typical for your field. If you phrase the question like that, then you are not calling out this other person and get a sense of what this person's contribution was. Hope this helps!

There are some benefits to doing an internship outside of a formal program. During my undergrad, I did an internship at a company which was a position they made just for me. I was the only younger person at the site and learn a lot about what the work environment was like there; I couldn't escape into a bubble of other students closer to my age. I'm guessing that you will be applying soon, so you are probably closer in age to the grad students now, and I am sure they will socialize with you and be friendly. Also, you can still get the other benefits of a REU at this internship. I am sure that the grad students in the lab would be happy to answer your questions and give advice. And the possibility of getting a publication would be extremely good for your application!

@BigThomason51 we're twins! good luck on your applications!